Designated as a land of science, peace and unspoilt nature since 1958, the Year of International Geophysics, the first major scientific collaboration between nations, the 'White Continent' must remain just that. That does not prohibit a few adjustments.

This status has delivered a lot to the international scientific community, regardless of discipline. And it has been respected. Researchers who had never previously worked together, or even known each other, have had the opportunity to do so thanks to numerous projects regularly put in place. And this has happened independently of geopolitical relations. Major ice-drilling projects which study the planet's past climates (Vostok, Dôme C Concordia, Byrd) would otherwise never have happened.

So the southern continent must remain free of all exploitation of its resources. Perhaps this won't please everybody, especially the major industrial companies. The same applies to the biodiversity of the southern ocean, where there is a risk of the high seas being appropriated in one way or another . Antarctica does not belong to anyone, just like the sea or outer space.

Even if the days of the "pioneer spirit" of the 1960s, 70s and 80s are long gone, politicians still need to be persuaded of the need to protect the continent. The Swiss Polar Institute's launch of an Antarctic circumnavigation, an expedition many of whose projects I am involved with, falls clearly within this international framework.

Part of the commons of mankind

Eric Canobbio

Expert in geopolitics at the University of Paris Saint-Denis with a focus on the Poles. (1)

The status of Antarctica is much more complicated than it seems. Governed by the 1959 Washington Convention, then, since 1991, the Madrid Protocol, there is in fact no need to be concerned about the protocol's expiry in 2048: while in theory it has a limited time frame, there is nothing preventing it being extended indefinitely.

We are in a kind of state of "geopolitical limbo". We are dealing with a unique situation where a continent, an ocean and its adjacent seas given over to peaceful, demilitarized and nuclear-free science have just had their protection strengthened: the commission for the preservation of the marine fauna (penguins, petrels, minke whales, orcas, seals, leopard seals) and flora of the Antarctic has in fact decided to create a 1.5 million km2 marine sanctuary in the Ross Sea, the largest in the world.

Antarctica, just like the sea and space, is part of "the commons of mankind." And in a way that is independent of Cold War-type geopolitical tensions or regional conflicts. This is remarkable!

I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about its future. I think we can always think of the "Antarctic system" as an international land of peace, with suggestions of mineral, gas, oil and fisheries exploitation being contained, mainly thanks to the diplomatic efforts of France and Australia, as well as scientists such as Cousteau, or Tazieff in Wellington in 1988. »

Geology. Twenty-five million years old – it emerged from the Gondwana and Pangea supercontinents.

Population: The only continent with no indigenous population, although some 1,500 scientists live there. Population density is roughly 0.0001 habitant/km2.

Scientific bases : 52, including a Chinese one.

Status. Signed in Washington by 12 countries in 1959 and later expanded to 45 states, the Antarctic treaty bestows the continent with the unique status of "reserved for science, peaceful activity, the preservation of natural resources and the protection of biodiversity." The treaty expires in 2048.

Newsletter

Get the latest from La Croix International. Sign up to receive our daily newsletter.

SUPPORT LA CROIX INTERNATIONAL’S COMMUNITY OF READERS

Support La Croix International's unique blend of international Catholic journalism by making it available to people in Asia and Africa who can't afford a subscription and often don't have credit cards to pay for it either.